1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method of creating a collection of documents, and more particularly to publishing a collection of hyperlinked documents as one cohesive document.
2. Description of Prior Art
The proliferation of information on the World Wide Web (WWW) has made the task of grouping related information difficult. Hyperlinks are typically used within on-line documents to provide access to related information. A hyperlink, or link, is a connection from one object (e.g., word, image, sound, and/or video) to another, which can be selected by a user. Typically, a link is a highlighted word or picture, which when selected, results in the immediate delivery of another file. The highlighted object is referred to as an anchor. An anchor reference and the corresponding object constitute a basic hyperlink.
Hyperlinks provide quick and easy access to electronic documents, however, they can lose functionality when transferred to other mediums, for example, when an on-line document is printed as a hard-copy (i.e., paper). The functionality of any hyperlink is lost, that is, the hyperlink can no longer navigate a user to readily available related information.
In some Web browsers, such as MICROSOFT'S® Internet Explorer, when printing an on-line document, an option is provided for printing all linked documents. The browser then prints each document independently, with only a table including shortcut text to Internet addresses attached.
Therefore, a need exists for a system and method of collecting and publishing a collection of hyperlinked documents as an integrated document. Furthermore, as most information is now available on the Web in the form of Web pages including hyperlinks, there is a need for a method of compiling a publication from an initial set (seed) of hyperlinked documents.